Buying new system what are your thoughts?

[Chemical]

Hey Everyone,

It's been about 4 years since I've built a system and I haven't kept up with the changes. My budget is $1500 cdn. The following is what I have picked from http://www.canadacomputers.com.

Case - Cooler Master Elite 310 Blue Mid Tower Case - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=6_112&item_id=023781

PSU - Thermaltake TR2 RX 650W Modular Power Supply TRX-650M - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=33_443&item_id=027013

Mobo - Asus M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 Socket AM3 AMD 880G + SB850 - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_340&item_id=031170

CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition (125W) Quad Core Socket AM3, 3.2GHz, 8Mb Cache, 1800MHz HT, 45nm (HDZ955FBGMBOX) - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=4_64&item_id=027383

Memory - OCZ (OCZ3P1333LV4GK) DDR3 PC3-10666 1333MHz Platinum Edition Low Voltage 4GB (2x2048MB) Dual Channel - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_311_312_611&item_id=026273

HDD - Seagate Momentus XT (ST92505610AS) 250GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache 2.5" Solid State Hybrid Drive - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=15_215_217&item_id=032186

Video Card - Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5830 1GB GDDR5 (Game Edition) ATI Radeon HD 5830 Chipset (800Mhz) 1GB GDDR5 (4000Mhz) Memory Triple Display Support Dual Dual-Link DVI/HDMI/Display Port PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card -
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_557_558&item_id=029809

Monitor - Asus MS238H, 23" Ultra Slim Widescreen LED LCD Monitor, 1920x1080, 2ms, 10000000:1(ASCR), VGA, DVI-D, HDMI (Retail Box) - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_292&item_id=027209

or

Monitor - LG W2343T-PF, 23" Widescreen HD 1080p LCD, 5ms (G to G), 1920 x 1080, 30,000:1(DFC), 16:9, HD-1080P, Black (Retail Box) - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_292&item_id=023213

Software (OS) - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (OEM)

This has come up to $1500. Any input would be appreciated.

I plan on using this system for Gaming.

Thanks,

 

[Guest]

Well, solid system, and while the ASUS monitor might be a tad overkill, its a good system overall. The PSU could be switched for a Corsair 650 TX or HX, but I don't know how much they go for in Canada. However, with 250 gigs of storage, you might be a bit limited. WD 500-750 GB drives are pretty cheap. Also, do you plan on any overclocking? And if so, how high (4 Ghz?). All in all, a nice balanced system.

 

[r-sky]

Check prices at newegg.ca

The video card is way cheaper there.

Does canadacomp price match?

The hybrid drive doesn't do much for the price.

 

[Chemical]

For the monitor I am looking for something that is (preferably) 23inch and can use HDMI. The LG doesn't have HDMI though. I am not sure if their would even be much of a quality difference between DVI and HDMI.

For the HDD space is not to much of a concern as I will only have games on this comp. I would go SSD but its still to much $$.

The Corsair 650 TX is $20 more and the HX is $30 more are either of these noticeably better? I may plan on going Crossfire and maybe Over Clock but not soon.

 

[Chemical]

Check prices at newegg.ca

The video card is way cheaper there.

Does canadacomp price match?

The hybrid drive doesn't do much for the price.

I will check newegg.ca out.

I am not sure if they price match, they just opened a couple months ago and have cheaper prices then most of the local stores.

I only saw a couple reviews about the Hybrid and it sounded promising.

 

[coldsleep]

I'd try to cut expenses a little bit in order to get up to a 5850, rather than that 5830. The 5850 currently holds its own in almost all games (Crysis excepted) at 1920x1080, but the 5830 is a little lacking at that resolution.

The hard drive is where I'd cut costs. While the hybrid drive is interesting, and it gets a reasonable review at Anandtech, I don't know that I'd pay that much more for it. At $1500 for a gaming machine, stick with getting a traditional hard drive, as the drive isn't going to affect anything in-game, while a better graphics card will.

There's a slightly faster G.Skill Ripjaws 4 GB kit on there for $5 less.

The efficiency on that PSU is sub-par. You want something that's 80+ certified and has active PFC. I would look at the OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W at $80 or the 600W one for $15 less.

Have you pricematched this system on newegg.ca or ncix.com?

 

[Chemical]

I'd try to cut expenses a little bit in order to get up to a 5850, rather than that 5830. The 5850 currently holds its own in almost all games (Crysis excepted) at 1920x1080, but the 5830 is a little lacking at that resolution.

The hard drive is where I'd cut costs. While the hybrid drive is interesting, and it gets a reasonable review at Anandtech, I don't know that I'd pay that much more for it. At $1500 for a gaming machine, stick with getting a traditional hard drive, as the drive isn't going to affect anything in-game, while a better graphics card will.

There's a slightly faster G.Skill Ripjaws 4 GB kit on there for $5 less.

The efficiency on that PSU is sub-par. You want something that's 80+ certified and has active PFC. I would look at the OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W at $80 or the 600W one for $15 less.

Have you pricematched this system on newegg.ca or ncix.com?

Thanks for the input, I am on Newegg.ca now matching everything.